SB Nation Los Angeles: All Posts by Julio Nievas

Lane Kiffin reaches new low in USC's loss to Notre Dame

2012-11-26T14:47:21Z

With every passing week, this USC Trojans team has managed to find new ways to underwhelm. But after exhausting the label of "disappointing" throughout the month of November, the Trojans' 22-13 loss to the visiting Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday ended the regular season with a whimper for USC.

Embarrassing.

Remember, this Trojan team was suppose to usurp the SEC dominance and bring equality in college football. Instead, USC has turned the opposite direction in the second half of the season, losing four of the last five games.

From pre-season No. 1 to a team unranked, the Trojans completed its collapse after losing to their national rival on Saturday.

Who is to blame? Let's start with the person leading the slide: Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin entered the season with his notable phrase "Prep Not Hype" be the staple slogan for this team. It's what helped them win 10 games last season with huge wins at Notre Dame and Oregon, it's what materialized the team's mentality and attitude before each game during the season.

But look at the numbers in the Trojans' five losses this season, and the first quarter scoring:

at Stanford: 7-7
at Arizona: 0-10
vs. Oregon: 3-14
at UCLA: 0-17
vs. Notre Dame: 0- 10

USC was outscored 58-10 in the first quarter in their five losses. Now I understand a slow start, but to have a trend of games where the Trojans look on the scoreboard only to see donut holes in the first quarter is tragic to the preparation of the team.

What about halftime adjustments? Here are the scoring numbers in the third quarter of those losses:

at Stanford: 0-7
at Arizona: 7-13
vs. Oregon: 14-14
at UCLA: 6-7
vs. Notre Dame: 0- 3

Not as bad as the first quarter, yet the Trojans were still outscored 44-27 to begin the second half.

All five losses were to teams ranked in the top 25. USC did not beat a ranked team this season, but went 7-0 in the other games.

A far cry from last season, Kiffin was out-coached on five different occasions this year, which is absurd for a team as talented as the Trojans.

With 10 returning starters on offense, USC was thought to be a scoring juggernaut. I wrote in the pre-season that we may see scoring numbers that rival the past Leinart/Bush-led USC teams.

But this team regressed on offense, and averaged 34.2 points per game this season after averaging 35.8 points in 2011.

What has been the difference? Turnovers and penalties. USC is in the bottom 10% in the nation in giveaways and flags, and that lack of discipline only points to the coaches.

The defense? We've already been there. Quick tempo teams hammered USC's defense to where we have defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin enter witness protection program because of the anger expressed by the USC faithful.

So where do we go from here? Athletic director Pat Haden mentioned after UCLA's loss that Lane is "150%" his guy going into next season.

But in the coming winter months, look for dramatic changes in the coaching staff. First and foremost, Lane has to tell his father, Monte, that the college game is a changed landscape from the NFL.

It's going to be tough, but Lane has reviewed games more than enough that his father is not the answer. USC is allowed opponents to convert on third down at 37.3% of the time, 8th in Pac-12, but 42.6% against ranked opponents, 9th in conference.

The goal is to be on top of the conference in numbers, not the bottom. Monte's soft-style "prevent" defense has suffered. Players dropping back into coverage before the quarterback even snaps the ball, allowing for a running back or mobile QB to skewer the defense.

Aside from a change at defensive coordinator, Kiffin must hire an offensive coordinator that must have a higher say in play calls.

In the fourth quarter in Saturday night's loss to Notre Dame, USC was on the two-yard line, poised to score a touchdown after a remarkable catch by Marqise Lee on a deep ball by Max Wittek.

This is the series of plays Kiffin called:

1st and goal at ND 1: QB sneak, no gain
2nd and goal at ND 1: QB sneak, no gain
3rd and goal at ND 1: Curtis McNeal rush, no gain
4th and goal at ND 1: Pass incomplete to fullback Soma Vainuku

Not only did this goal-line stand by Notre Dame keep USC from scoring, but the Trojans managed to burn 3:25 off the clock on the drive.

The regular season is over. USC is going bowling, but it will be a lesser bowl. What's Kiffin thinking at this moment? I'm not sure, but rational decisions have to be made. In a season where Kiffin managed not to adjust against ranked opponents, he's going to have to adjust now.

It's time for a fresh start.

USC vs. UCLA: Trojans do battle with archrival Bruins

2012-11-17T14:39:06Z

Competing against your opponent to ultimately achieve your goal of winning the next step or result is what sports is about. It’s ‘juicier’ when that opponent is your archrival, an opponent you despise.

It’s a whole other level of competing because it is the team with the star on the calendar, a game where you must utilize all your skills and elements of your game, because your opponent is wanting to beat you the same way you do.

And that’s what makes this USC-UCLA rivalry great. It’s a crosstown rivalry between two Los Angeles schools. Bear vs. Soldier. Blue vs. Cardinal. A four-year senior pro-style quarterback against a true freshman mobile quarterback.

In the visiting side, the USC Trojans will wear their home jerseys to the Rose Bowl, ready to repeat the murdering that took place last season at the Coliseum, where the Trojans shut out the Bruins 50-0.

But don’t expect the UCLA Bruins (8-2, 4-2) to forget that night. Led by new head coach Jim Mora and quarterback Brett Hundley, UCLA birthed a stronger, faster team when Mora took the podium to announce his reign at UCLA.

Fans of both teams always hassle eachother this time of year hoping to grab bragging rights, but this year is especially different.

UCLA is ranked higher than USC.

But don’t tell that fact to USC fans, because they will rebuttal you that USC has beaten UCLA in 12 of the last 13 years. But that lone loss that USC suffered in 2006 prevented the Trojans from going to the BCS Championship Game, adding fuel to this great rivalry.

For USC to win, the Trojans must find a way to stop a no-huddle team with a mobile quarterback. The Arizona Wildcats and Oregon Ducks proved to be USC’s Achilies heel, and USC has had no answer for high-snap teams. Will defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin have a new handle on his play-chart? His schemes have not been effective.

For the Bruins, they need Brett Hundley continue to be the star he’s been all season long, as well as speedy running back, Jonathan Franklin. Both have devastated opposing defenses with Mora’s mix-matching plays making the defense confused on each snap of the ball. The Trojans need to counter with their speedy defense, and will try to find the right read on UCLA’s complex offense.

This will be USC’s second toughest opponent of the season, and although UCLA is built for a big bowl game in the late season, they do have large chinks in their armor.

UCLA is 108th in the nation in passing defense. USC is 17th in the nation in passing offense.

Look for the Trojans to utilize their star wideouts I large doses. UCLA has Hundley, but the Trojans have the best college football player in the nation in Marqise Lee.

Will Mora’s defense improve from the 457 receiving yards they allowed against the Washington State Cougars in last week’s game? You have to think Lee and Robert Woods will answer that question for the Bruins with a ‘no’.

Get ready to watch smash mouth football, as both of these teams will try to set the tempo in the trenches. Both teams love balance on the offense, but the Bruins have more strength in their running game led by Franklin. The senior was looking strong in the Heisman race early before Oregon’s Kenjon Barner decided to finish it two weeks ago at USC. But his numbers are strong, averaging 6.4 rushing yards an attempt and 1,270 total yards on the ground.

Both teams will be ready to chest bump eachother more than usual, brag about a stop louder than usual, and celebrate on the sidelines after a touchdown crazier than usual?

Who has the edge at the Rose Bowl on Saturday? My gut says USC, but logic says UCLA.

So….

USC 34, UCLA 31

USC vs. Arizona State review: Marqise Lee, Trojans bounce back

2012-11-12T23:35:50Z

Nice win, Trojans.

After a couple of hard losses to Arizona and Oregon, the USC Trojans bounced back against the pesky Arizona State Sun Devils, winning at home 38-17 on Saturday.

The Trojans started off slow, with turnovers that led to quick Arizona points. But USC’s defense, whom have disappeared the past two games, made a strong appearance by holding the ASU offense for 17 points.

While the USC defense had a great day, Marqise Lee was exceptional once again. The sophomore continues his stellar year with his 11th 100-plus receiving yard game, in 22 games at receiver. This game only helped Lee’s chances at having a seat in New York, for the prestigious Heisman Trophy. More on Lee in a bit, but first, let’s digest this win for the Trojans.

Matt Barkley was his usual hot and cold self. The senior threw for three touchdowns while throwing for 222 yards, but threw three interceptions. Barkley said during last week’s practices that he wants to cut downs on his interceptions, however he had two picks in 20 minutes in the first half. The Trojans lack of rhythm led to an up-beat Sun Devils squad, a USC team with captain center Khaled Holmes yelling at his teammates "This isn’t USC Trojans football! This is a Disgrace!"

USC’s receipe started with Lee, but the main ingredient was its running game. Curtis McNeal had a big game. Rushing for 163 yards with a couple of touchdowns, McNeal balanced the Trojans offensive attack with Arizona State confused on defense. Head coach Lane Kiffin typically has "pass-friendly" plays at the ready on his play sheet, but McNeal’s offense was tough to ignore. For his lack of ideal NFL size, McNeal’s 5-7, 190 stature had 31 carries.

Sun Devils quarterback, Tom Kelly, had his toughest game of the year. For a quarterback with a solid 20 to 6 touchdown-interception ratio, Kelly threw three interceptions. The interceptions puts the Trojans second in the nation with 18 interceptions.

Kelly went 19 for 30, good numbers for a quarterback, but the Trojans tough defensive line made Kelly throw a couple of errant throws that led to USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams and middle linebacker Lamar Dawson to have their first career interceptions.

The Trojans defense proved to be extremely tough against a well-schemed Sun Devils pro-style offense. Even with turnovers leading to red-zone opportunities for the Sun Devils, Trojans made it difficult for Arizona State to score, limiting them to three points in those turnovers.

The Trojans will now face archrivals UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. Making this big win miniature, as rival week begins.

Marqise Lee Becomes Best Player in College Football
Lee is leading the nation in receiving yards with 1,447 and also leading receptions by a wide margin of 98. His performance has led him in talks for the Heisman Trophy with Kansas State’s Colin Klein and Notre Dame’s Manti Te'o.

There was a play in the fourth quarter where Lee proved to be worthy of the Trophy. After a toss-sweep, reverse play that had Marqise Lee behind the line of scrimmage about 15 yards; Lee made nothing out of something. His creativity on the field and fancy footwork led me to memories of when No. 5 played at the Coliseum in 2005. Lee gained 40 yards on that play, while playing sick as he had a serious case of food poisoning that made his face swollen at gametime.

UCLA Week
This week will be big for the Trojans as they will face a Bruins football team that is having big success under first-year head coach Jim Mora. Will there be any pranks between the both schools? Any more trash talk between team’s players on Twitter? Trash talk between both coaches? This rivalry never fails without some drama leading up to the game. But 50-0 did happen last year.

USC vs. Arizona State preview: Can the Trojans rebound?

2012-11-09T13:20:06Z

It's been a rough two weeks for USC Trojans football fans.

After being an Associated Press pre-season No. 1 team and a favorite to compete for the national championship in Miami, head coach Lane Kiffin's team has found themselves 6-3 for the season, tarnishing those high expectations which began when Matt Barkley announced that he would be returning for his fourth year at USC.

Worse yet, USC has suffered its worst loss statistically since Stanford in 2010 after giving up 730 yards of offense to the Oregon Ducks, who defeated the Trojans in the Coliseum last Saturday 62-51.

With two straight losses, totaling to 101 points in defeat, Kiffin is looking to bounce back searching for a win in Los Angeles on Saturday as the USC Trojans (6-3) face visiting Arizona State. Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3).

ASU first-year head coach Todd Graham had a successful first half. Arizona State started 5-1, with the lone loss to the Missouri Tigers and narrowly be defeated 24-20. However, the Sun Devils season took a turn for the worst as they are facing three straight losses, to ranked teams Oregon, UCLA, and Oregon State.

Still, Graham has put ASU to be a formidable opponent.

ASU quarterback Taylor Kelly is having a fine season under center for the Sun Devils. He has 20 touchdowns to his six interceptions and throwing at a respectable 65.5% clip.

The Sun Devils also like to spread the ball around to their running backs, with true freshman D.J. Foster leading the way. ASU's running attack is 41st in the nation, averaging 187 yards a game.

With ASU's balanced offensive gameplan, how will USC recover from two straight losses to the Sun Devil's three?

The Trojans defense has no where to go, but up after being a no-show against Oregon. And luckily for USC, ASU doesn't rush its snaps. Monte Kiffin's pro-style defensive schemes should be more effective against the balance offense rather than the run-happy teams such as Arizona and Oregon.

Matt Barkley looks to continue his hot passing, but Arizona State has quite a formidable secondary, they are first in the conference and 7th in the nation in passing defense, giving up only 161.6 yards per game.

Look for Arizona State to cause problems for Barkley all game, they are second in the conference with 38 sacks. Barkley is at his worst when there is pressure in the pocket. Will we see another near-INT as he throws the ball while falling down from an ASU defensive sack? Barkley has not waned the habit to stop.

Which is where Redd and the USC running backs are going to have to step up, as well as Kiffin's running gameplan. If there is a dent to ASU's impressive defense, it's against the run. The Sun Devils are giving up 171 yards of rushing to their opponents, 8th in conference.

Both teams are a combined 1-5 in the past three games, both are starving for wins. Who's going to win? I think the Trojans luck this won out.

Prediction: USC 28 ASU 24

USC vs. Oregon review: Trojans forget to play defense

2012-11-05T13:30:12Z

For every Saturday this season, the USC Trojans have seemingly managed to break some sort of record. However, Saturday's record-setting game against the Oregon Ducks is something that should quickly be forgotten.

That's because USC gave up 62 points, 730 yards of offense, including 426 yards on the ground, as USC lost to Oregon 62-51 at the Coliseum. We knew Oregon's running game was the best in the nation, but jeez.

Heisman candidate Kenjon Barner, the fine tailback for the Ducks, absolutely burned the USC defense. Oregon was blocking at will to have its star rumble through the Trojan defense, slicing and dicing his way to carve up USC's front four. Barner broke his school record with 321 yards rushing, a mark held by his predecessor and former Ducks star LaMichael James.

Barner also set a record for most rushing yards against USC.

The Oregon offensive line, and the wide receivers to their credit, were blocking flawlessly against USC's defense. Trojans T.J. McDonald and Jawanza Starling worked overtime getting after the shifty Ducks offensive playmakers.

Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota proved to be 45355345% better than Darron Thomas, as he completed 20 of 23 passes for 304 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Monte Kiffin was outgunned by Oregon's Chip Kelly, and by outgunned I mean Monte brought a knife to the gun fight.

In the past two games, USC has given 101 points and 1,345 yards of offense. That's not a recipe for a boost to win a game, and you have to blame it on the coach.

"If you have back-to-back games against two teams and they both go over 600 yards, we've got to change," head coach Lane Kiffin said in his post game press conference. "I just don't have the answer now, or I'd have tried to change something during the game."

After three years of trying to stop the high-flying Ducks, Monte's defensive game plan is at its worst, and that's continuing from last week's dismal lost against Arizona.

Monte isn't catching up to the spread-offenses that more teams are instituting. His NFL game planning isn't translating in college, and there should be a change in that regard.

Will Lane do the unthinkable and let his Dad retire in Miami? For a season with such high expectations severed by tough losses, it's time for Kiffin to make a move.

But there were good things

Nelson Agholor, the prized receiver from Tampa, Fla., showed why he was one of the top recruits in the nation last year. The true freshman caught six passes for 162 yards. It was a coming out party similar to Robert Woods in 2010 and Marqise Lee in 2011.

Woods looks as if he will enter the NFL draft, but with Agholor to take his spot the Trojans should transition smoothly.

Lee had another big day, grabbing 12 passes for 157 yards. Lee has to go to New York City with Barner as a Heisman finalist. He's leading the nation with 88 receptions and second in the nation in yards with 1,286. His return skills should also propel him to New York, as he's reached "Hold your breath, here comes Reggie (Bush)" mode with USC fans every time he has the ball in his hands.

USC vs. Oregon preview: Speed vs. speed

2012-11-02T12:40:02Z

With two losses, the USC Trojans (6-2, 4-2) find themselves with the same number of losses when it battled against the Oregon Ducks (8-0, 5-0) last year.

That game, USC came away with a big time victory against the Ducks on the road, shutting Oregon's late game rally with a missed field goal to seal the game.

This time, the Ducks are in Los Angeles. USC will try to manage a victory at home against a high powered offense in the Ducks. The Trojans will attempt to vanish Oregon's hopes again for a national title, just like they did last season with their win in Eugene, Ore.

This game has lost a bit of its luster thanks to a USC meltdown loss against Arizona last week in Tuscon, Ariz. But nevertheless, it's always a joy to watch two of the top Pac-12 teams do battle on the field. Since 2000, the Pac-10/12 has seen Oregon or USC on top of the conference in every year.

In the game last season, Matt Barkley tore up Oregon's secondary; throwing to his best receivers in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. It was Lee, however, who made the bigger plays, catching about every deep pass that was thrown to him. Mistakes from both teams were made in pivotal points of the game, but USC came out with a hard fought win, winning 38-35 marking Lane Kiffin's best win of his coaching career.

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly is undefeated in Los Angeles and will welcome the nice weather. Although he will undoubtedly share the ball around his team, there's a player to be watched on Saturday as this game will be his homecoming: De'Anthony Thomas.

Sharing the same nickname as Kobe Bryant's during Thomas' high school years, the "Black Mamba" was seen as the next best thing to come out of the inner-city football community.

He committed to the USC Trojans in mid-2010 before ditching USC and committing to the Ducks on Signing Day in 2011.

With a late January trip just days before Signing Day, Thomas took an official visit to Oregon and loved the atmosphere. Kelly swayed Thomas from Kiffin, and it may have been for the best.

Thomas has maintained his hunt for the Heisman Trophy and believed Kelly's spread-option, run-happy offense would set the road there. And it has.

Thomas is the most electrifying athlete in college football since Cam Newton. He has a sprinter's speed and carves up the defense when in space with his elusive moves.

He'll try to do that as a running back and wide receiver against USC this Saturday, who hope to stop Thomas and the high flying ducks with their strength in the defense: speed.

USC got a preview of a high-snap count offense against Rich Rodriguez's Wildcats last weekend, but USC will play for a better result than an loss in the W/L column. It will be a tough task, but USC has done it before.

USC didn't manage to live up to the hype this season, but a win against Oregon will certainly paint the elite image back to the Trojans.

With Oregon, they are in the thick of the race for the national championship once again. Both teams will face its toughest foe, who will win in the Coliseum?

Prediction: USC 34, Oregon 48

USC vs. Arizona: Sloppy play keeps the big game away

2012-10-29T12:40:04Z

With the USC Trojans' tragic loss against Arizona on Saturday, it undeniably kept them from playing in Florida in January. The loss puts the Trojans in a virtual tie with UCLA in the Pac-12 South standings, so the Trojans can still play in the Rose Bowl if they run the table from here on out.

But it will be a tough task, so tough that they still have to play Oregon, Notre Dame, and UCLA.

How did it unravel? USC was suppose to take care of business in Tuscon, they were leading 28-13 in one point, until suddenly they found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter.

You can start blaming the lack of discipline.

The Trojans amassed a total of 13 penalties, which costed them 117 yards. USC was dead last in the conference in penalties, averaging 10 a game. Yes, folks, 10. A team littered with talented players, veterans, and having a great coaching staff should not be sattled with so many penalties.

Is there a solution to this problem? At this point, is Lane Kiffin even trying to find a solution?

Speaking of Kiffin, his dismal play-calling has continued to plague the offense. On a fourth and two call, Kiffin elected to do a reverse play with Lee getting stopped by a Arizona defender to hand the ball back to Arizona. Arizona scores afterwards.

He also didn't give the ball enough to Marqise Lee in the second half. Lee had the best game any USC receiver ever had, 16 receptions, 345 receiving yards, two touchdowns. Yet, Kiffin didn't even know he had Lee in the third quarter as Lee didn't record a reception in the quarter.

But Kiffin shouldn't be completely faulted here, even though he didn't spike the ball to save himself 18 seconds in USC's final drive. No, USC committed five turnovers. Five.

Turnovers happen, but when you commit at that high of a number, you have to attempt to smash your head somewhere.

And it starts with Matt Barkley. Barkley had a huge game, passing for 493 yards (with Lee on his left side) and three touchdowns. But he also threw for two interceptions, almost two more at some point in the game. Barkley's Heisman hopes all but washed away on Saturday, it's Kansas State's Colin Klein's to lose.

Committing to 10 penalties a game, having a high number of turnovers, and poor coaching execution does not equal to a national title team. But we should all know that by now.

Something positive did come out of this game, however. USC elected to start a true freshman at a position of high difficulty, left tackle. And Max Tuerk played it well. Tuerk made a could of false start penalties, but overall protected Barkley well enough that he didn't let a defender pass him.

The Trojans saw their chances of a title die on Saturday, but they could still win big. The aforementioned tough schedule will have the Trojans in Los Angeles against those teams. And Trojans need to feast on some home cooking.

USC vs. Colorado: Matt Barkley's legacy still needs a BCS bowl win

2012-10-22T12:20:05Z

Pass Matt Leinart for most touchdown passes in USC history:

Check.

Become new leader in the history of the Pac-10, 12, whatever, to throw most touchdowns:

Check.

Win a major bowl championship game:

We’ll see.

Matt Barkley dazzled in a fitting setting under the lights of Los Angeles in the Coliseum in the USC Trojans' 50-6 win over the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, and became to be the first to throw 100 touchdown passes in the conference. He’ll be able to pass for even more as there are five (six with a bowl game) games remaining on schedule.

As remarkable as he’s been with USC under center, he’s still missing hardware to put him clearly on top in the school’s history: And he’ll probably never pass Leinart.

But that isn’t a knock on Barkley. Leinart is the most decorated quarterback ever to play the game in recent history, Tebow being a close second.

It’s unfair to compare Barkley to those two because he played during years where USC couldn’t play in a bowl game, or a championship game. But that can be added to his legacy.

USC is 6-1, 4-1 in conference. The hardest stretch of their schedule has now presented itself starting with a trip to Arizona where they will face Rich Rodriguez’s Wildcats, who have an explosive offense.

If Barkley wins over Arizona, Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA, and Notre Dame, that will be something. Winning the Pac-12 championship? Something else. Winning a major bowl game? Then I’ll place him on top of USC’s player ranks.

Leinart played with some of the most tremendous athletes to ever play college football, but Barkley is mostly responsible to lead his team on top with the NCAA sanctions firmly in the driver’s rear window.

Nobody believed USC would be where they are right now, being ranked No. 9 in BCS’s latest rankings playing with 10 players less than any other team that are in the top 10 of said rankings.

Depth has hurt the Trojan team in some areas, but the talent is there to overcome the majority of the pain. Most of that talent coming from the heralded Barkley.

If USC wins the Rose Bowl or the BCS championship, then it will be one of the greatest comeback stories in recent college football history, with Barkley at the helm.

Notes and Observations

50: USC scored 50 points for the first time this season. Shocking to hear when the media, and I, thought they would explode for more regularly. Maybe the Colorado blowout solved things, or maybe they just played "Colorado".

Robert Woods: As much as I showed my enamored love for Barkley, Woods was no slouch against the Buffs. It was his first 100-plus receiving yards game this season. When Barkley and Woods start playing catch in games like these, opponent’s defense strategy is at a loss. It was great to see the two hooking up again.

14: Number of interceptions USC has this season; third in the nation. Let’s give a round of applause to defensive technition and USC secondary coach, Marvin Williams. I’ve scrutinized Monte Kiffin’s cover schemes against the pass before, but when Williams first stepped on Howard Jones field, those schemes were more clear.

USC is playing more tight zone and man coverage. Whether it’s the personel or the coverage scheme, the defense has taken a big step forward overall; and it starts with Williams taking over the secondary.